India's epidemic of rape and violence continues

India continues to be plagued by violent crimes against women, with a woman who was raped and then hanged on June 12 being the most recent example.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - This brings the total number of rapes in India's state of Uttar Predesh to five in just the last few days, including two women who were killed; previous to the hanged woman, police officers raped another woman in a local police station.

There is no excuse for these disgusting acts. Please pray for the victims who continue to suffer.

"The sub-inspector accused of committing the rape of the woman has been put under arrest while we have launched a manhunt for the three constables accused of being party to the crime," a spokesman at state police headquarters reported.

On May 27, two low-caste girls-aged 12 and 14-were gang-raped and hanged. The two cousins were taken from their homes when they went to an outdoor toilet, and were found the next morning in a nearby mango orchard.

The countries new prime minister, Narendra Modi, discussed the issue during a speech to parliament on Wednesday. He said India needed to protect women and that the government needed to act. During that speech, he also asked that politicians not comment on the causes of these crimes.

Workers from Modi's party tried to march on the office of Akhilesh Yadav, the chief minister, to protest against the violence but ended up clashing with police. Opposition parties have also called for Yadav's dismissal.

The state of Uttar Pradesh is one of the poorest regions in the world, and has missed out on most of the economic boom that has swept over India in the last decade. With a population of 208 million, it is larger than Russia, and has suffered through a series of corrupt governments.

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